We took an early flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok, and then Bangkok to Phuket. When we arrived at Phuket we were dismayed to learn that the last ferry was in an hour, we were forty minutes from the dock, and we still had to collect our baggage. We grabbed our bags and hopped in a cab, and made it with only a few minutes to spare. The ferry ride over was amazing. The water in the Andaman seas is so blue and clear, and there are tiny rocky islands the whole way.

We arrived on the small island of Phi Phi and checked into our hotel. The room was crappy, so we tried to get another one. Luckily, mother was insistent and we finally got a nice room where the air conditioning worked and it didn't smell like mildew. Our first night we went to Lindsey's favorite restaurant in the world, Papaya. She thinks it by far the best Thai food she's ever had, and after sampling the dishes, Mom and Sarah had to agree.Papaya isn't much to look at- it is a tin roofed shack with plastic tables

. The cats live in the fridge. The food is so good that it is still packed every night, and most of the time you can't get a seat and have to go to the bar next door and get the food delivered there.

Lindsey and Sarah signed up for a SCUBA trip to "Hin Daeng" for their first day on Phi Phi. Hin Daeng is located about an hour and a half by speedboat off of Phi Phi and is the spot that has the most manta ray and whale shark spottings. We did two dives that day, and sadly did not see either. We did see a beautiful collection of tropical fish, and Moray Eels with heads larger than ours. The dive was also exciting because it was the first that Sarah did after her advanced open water certification.The water was rocky, and we both got a little seasick.

That evening we went to Tonsai Bay and got a seafood sampler with lobster, red snapper, and baked mussels. Then we decided to try out the nightlife. We sat down at a bar and Sarah and Mom witnessed their first fire show, which involves talented Thai men spinning poi (chains with fireballs on the ends of them) and flaming batons at astounding speed. Mother, who had baton twirled in high school, was unimpressed and claimed she could do that too. This got an idea into her head...

After Mom went to bed, and Sarah and Lindsey headed over to Reggae Bar, where most nights on Phi Phi begin. This is the bar with two for one bucket deals (okay, every bar on Phi Phi has two for one bucket deals) and a Thai boxing ring. In addition to real Thai boxing, anyone from the crowd can get up and fight their friend (or enemy). Hilarity is sure to ensue. Here we met our new friends Tom and Abby. They are from England and are also siblings traveling together. Afterwards we went to the two beach bars, Slinky's and Apache, where we met up with our New Zealand friends Ash, Rob, Phil, and a new addition Tommy. The two bars are located next to each other, use the beach as their dance floor and give away buckets from 12:10 and 12:50 to 1 am. Lindsey found a tin of black light paint and painted us all green. The next morning at breakfast we were wondering when mom was going to ask about our green fingernails.

The next day we spent the way we spent most of our days on Phi Phi- "chillaxing" by the pool. Our hotel was located on the most narrow part of the island, with one side facing tosonsai bay and the other facing a beautiful beach. From the lounge chairs at our pool we had the most beautiful view. To complement the view there were also realistically rendered statues of dolphins spitting water adorning the pool.

We had lunch at our other favorite restaurant on the island, Unni's. This is a Scandinavian restaurant that serves delicious sandwiches and salads. Papaya is not open for lunch, so we ate basically all of our lunches here. That afternoon Sarah and Lindsey took a nap, because mother does not tolerate sleeping in! That evening we ate at a french-Thai fusion restaurant, and Lindsey and Sarah went out on the town again. This time mother woke up to find our dripping clothes hanging in the bathroom, because we had all gotten thrown into the ocean at around 4 in the morning.

The next day was pretty much the same- sunbathing, relaxing, swimming. Mom had already come down with her cold, and Lindsey developed a sinus infection, so Sarah signed up to dive alone on Christmas eve. She and Mom headed off to bed early, while Lindsey met up with Tom and Abby and the New Zealanders again. Everyone was tired from all of the nightlife, and the rest of our friends were traveling the next day, so it was an early night.

The next morning Sarah went to the two local dive sites Bida Nok and Bida Noi. She had two great dives, and saw her first two sharks! There was a huge leopard shark sleeping by a reef, and a black tipped reef shark swimming around. That evening we prepared for the "Phi Phi Cabana Christmas Eve Extravaganza" the mandatory Christmas eve party our hotel put on.

The extravaganza involved a huge buffet and a live entertainment show including door prizes. When entering we also got noisemakers, poppers, Christmas hats and a tiny drum

. The night was set for festivities! The MC was the worst rambler ever, but we could not help but listen to him. The show was a one man band playing Frank Sinatra hits, a prodigious amount of Thai traditional dancing, and of course, a lady boy show. What visit to Thailand would be complete without hearing a ladyboy singing sultry Christmas carols and upbeat pop hits?? We were determined to get our money's worth, so we stayed, and as the people around us left we collected their raffle tickets in hopes of winning. We did win, but unexpectedly when the MC announced that there were four chairs with winning tickets under them. Lindsey got up and searched all the empty tables...and some tables that weren't. She did find one, and won a straw purse with a bottle of champaign in it. After winning, we did not have much motivation to stay.

Earlier in the night we had gotten a flyer for the "Pimps and Ho Ho Hos" party at Apache Club (the trashier version of Apache Beach Bar). We had to check it out. When we arrived, they were giving away free buckets! So we decided it was time for mother to have her first bucket. For someone drinking buckets for the first time, she managed to contain herself. After about 10 minutes at the party, when we could say we had been there, we headed back to our hotel and eagerly awaited Santa Claus.

Even though we didn't have a real Christmas tree (only the beautiful arrangement of flowers that Jon had sent Lindsey decorated with ornaments mom bought in Cambodia) Santa still managed to find us. We opened our gifts under the tree and had a nice Christmas breakfast together. Sarah's best Christmas gift wasn't brought by Santa- Patrick was flying into Phuket at 8:30 PM so she left on the 2 pm ferry to go pick him up. Lindsey and Mom took a break from "chillaxing" and rented a kayak. They paddled all around the island to different beaches and hidden coves.

Mom and Lindsey spent Christmas night at a fireshow, and mom decided to test her skillz. (Can you believe she tried it the night Sarah wasn't there?!?) She went up to the firedancers and asked for the baton. They made her try it without fire first to prove she could twirl it. Then they lit it up and off she went. She put on a fantastic show, and thinks she found her new calling in life. We think it's time to get her off this island!